New movies hit streaming sites

A host of new movies hit streaming sites this week, from festival favorites to mainstream fare, from rom-coms to horror to explorations of our favorite video games.

First up, British rom-com “Rye Lane” took Park City, Utah, by storm in January at the Sundance Film Festival, and it streams on Hulu today. This lively charmer stars David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah as a pair who collide and commiserate over their respective breakups during a jam-packed day. Don’t miss this revitalization of the beloved rom-com, directed by Raine Allen-Miller and written by Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia, on Hulu.

Just before the new “Super Mario Bros. Movie” hits theaters, scratch that nostalgic video game itch with “Tetris,” streaming on Apple TV+ today. The iconic Gameboy game with falling blocks doesn’t boast much plot or character, but this is the story behind Tetris, the surprisingly action-packed tale of businessman Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton), who essentially had to smuggle the game out of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, where it was invented by Alexey Pajitnov. Directed by Jon S. Baird and written by Noah Pink, this is the stranger-than-fiction story that brought Tetris to the masses and made it a national obsession. Stream it today on Apple TV+.

Horror movies often take on vision as a major theme, exploring that sense’s capacity for horror, but it’s more rare for hearing to be the central sense of a horror film. In “The Unheard,” streaming on the horror-specific site Shudder, a young woman (Lachlan Watson) undergoing a clinical trial for hearing loss starts to hear things that just aren’t there, including her mother, who has been missing since her childhood. Directed by Jeffrey A. Brown and written by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen, “The Unheard” is streaming on Shudder today.

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler aren’t just close friends in real life; they’re also a dynamic duo onscreen. After co-starring in 2011’s “Just Go with It,” they teamed up again for the Agatha Christie-inspired Netflix comedy “Murder Mystery” in 2019, as a retired New York cop and his wife who become embroiled in a murder investigation while on a European vacation. They’re back for another vacay gone awry in “Murder Mystery 2,” where they once again run into a dead body, this time on a tropical private island. It’s Sandler and his team riffing on Detective Hercule Poirot, with an international cast of superstars. Stream both movies on Netflix — “Murder Mystery 2” hits the streaming service today.

Also available on VOD platforms today (as well as in New York and Los Angeles theaters) is the documentary “In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis.” Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi, the film chronicles the travels of Pope Francis to 53 countries during the first nine years of his papacy, when he focused on issues of poverty, migration, the environment, solidarity and war. This film gives a rare look at his public life, from the pulpit to the streets. Rent it on all VOD platforms or seek it out in theaters today.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” is now available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play and other streaming sites, just in case you need another three-hour tour to Pandora. The purchase comes in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos audio, as well as with three hours of bonus content.